France said it regretted a US decision today to seek the death penalty for French citizen Zacarias Moussaoui, a September 11 suspect, and that it would not supply evidence that could lead to such a sentence.
Justice Minister Marylise Lebranchu, whose country got rid of the death penalty 20 years ago, said legal cooperation with Washington would continue in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, but that France would move cautiously from now on.
"I regret this decision, but we remain supportive of the United States after what happened," Mr Lebranchu told reporters. "Everybody in France remains supportive."
"We shall continue judicial cooperation. However, under no circumstances shall we transmit a piece of evidence if it could be used to back up a death sentence," she said. "We shall be careful about the way we implement this cooperation.
"At the time I am speaking to you not a single document has been handed over," Mr Lebranchu added.
Mr Moussaoui, a 33-year-old of Moroccan origin, is charged with conspiring with Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network in connection with the hijacked airliner attacks in New York and Washington, which killed more than 3,000 people.
Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine also expressed regret over the decision to seek the death penalty against Moussaoui. But he too said that France would continue to cooperate with the US authorities in the war against terror.